WHITE CHRISTMAS

It is that time of year when we hear the Christmas music.

One of my favorites is White Christmas, by Bing Crosby.

Here is a link to Bing Crosby and Marjorie Reynolds, singing “White Christmas” (written by Irving Berlin, who was Jewish), in the film “Holiday Inn,” in 1942, the year I was born.

Notice the all-time Christmastime fire hazard - lit candles on the Christmas tree.

In addition to singing, Bing Crosby had another musical talent - the ability to whistle to written music, or to adlib whistling to almost any type of music. The song on this video demonstrates both his voice and his whistling.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Mjb4yLMeK8&feature=email

To learn more about the amazing life of Bing Crosby, and his musical inventions, check out this link. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bing_Crosby

I met Bing Crosby once, in 1966, when I was visiting San Francisco for the day. I had a day off from school and decided to have lunch in an authentic Chinese restaurant in San Francisco's Chinatown.

Prior to lunch, I was sitting on some steps on Market Street watching all the people walking by on the sidewalk. There were scads of people. It was almost noon, and I was in the financial district. As noon approached, thousands and thousands of people came streaming out of the tall buildings, heading for their lunch spots. It looked as if someone had disturbed a gigantic ant nest.

I saw Bing Crosby walk by, and I got up and walked very fast to catch up to him. He was a very fast walker, but not as fast as me. Plus, my legs were a tad longer than his. He wore slacks, shirt and tie, an expensive looking type of sport coat and a hat. He looked very dapper indeed.

I walked next to him, in step with him. It was fun watching the looks on people's faces as we walked. It was the turned head, "say, isn't that Bing Crosby?" look.

I introduced myself and thanked him for donating funds to help build the Saratoga Youth Center. (Most people do not know it, but his charitable foundation did things like that. He was a big financial supporter of youth centers.) He mentioned that that was the first time a complete stranger had ever thanked him for making such a donation. We walked and talked for about five minutes, before he had to make a right turn and go into a tall building for an appointment.

That chance encounter made my day more special. Plus, the Chinese food was great too.